Drunken Monkey

nay i say. pizza is better. it could look like a dog threw it up but once you get a sniff of that alluring scent, you are captive forever...

bit late for a new essay isn't it? i mean, doesn't the term end soon? anyway... the schoolgirl and the bus-drivers... well a few years ago i knew a girl who had a thing about bus drivers. not the young, good-looking, just need a job kinda bus driver. she went for all bus drivers. even the old rab c nesbit type bus driver... hmmm, maybe i should PM the rest. it all gets a bit x-rated after this intro.

well, less prepared maybe but not unable... in a way, when we crossed hands, we were forced to get more technical because sometimes we relied too much on being able to 'over-power' them. * * * as for the forms in wing chun. the forms are just there to help you remember the basic 'rules' of the style. it has all of the basic moves and is your catalogue. in class, all we do is some drills, spar and chi sau. give it a go, you might like it. and if you don't? well, at least you tried it which is better than not trying at all.

that's another thing that kinda annoys me. when people talk about wing chun and sparring they mention finger jabs. what about the most basic of all hits, the punch? you DON'T NEED to biu gee to hit at every opportune moment. and do you need to aim for eyes and throat? it's not hard to get some head gear and replace these hits with punches. just a thought...

um, i'll think i'll pass...

good good. you have no idea how often i ask that question and the answer i get is 'i don't/haven't....' anyway. you CAN spar in wing chun. just cos you go in fast doesn't mean you have to hit hard. just cos you are going in hard doesn't mean you have to hit. and when using the elbow, we don't hit with it, we get it in position and just give a push... admittedly it isn't hyper realistic fighting but it gives a good indication of how to get it to work. and there's a fingerless glove out there that allows the hand to flex fully. i'll find the address of the shop that sells it and you can have a look. we've been using them for ages. hmmm, samual kwok. from yip chun. if you can, find a guy from yip ching (probably from ron heimberger). they do chi sau very differently. gives a different perspective on how things can be done.

it's not really the ring thing. it's just that a lot of guys don't seem to realise that if you don't test it, you won't know if it works or not. on paper, and in words, wing chun works. everything makes sense. there is no reason why it shouldn't, just like there is no reason that it can't work in the ring. after all, it is, in a way, just a more complex form of boxing. what i'm trying to say is, guys who do wing chun need to take a little side step sometimes and spar against other people of other styles. i guess it is to do with the training. i'm kinda forced to admit that the regular training we do (before us more senior students lock them doors at night... ) just isn't realistic. but then that's fine for them. they don't ask for any more. this isn't just in wing chun. lots of people who practice/learn/do (take your pick) martial arts don't want to fight. they learn just to learn. we used to get a lot of trouble with another local wing chun club because we have punch bags and we sometimes 'fight' (not spar) with padding/body armour and gloves. we know for a fact that they were learning in the full traditional way. not to be harsh but it was just slapping hands most of the time. (we um, sent spies... dishonorable i know but what the hell, wing chun was about rebels anyway!) we invited a lot of their senior students to come and play with us. we had a long chat. we exchanged a few ideas. we crossed hands. we haven't had a bad word from them since. i'm not saying that their wing chun was/is bad. it's just that they weren't ready for harder contact. i mean, their technique was spot on, position was perfect but at times the commitment to the hit wasn't there and hence their control of the exchange was gone. * * * and now i've forgotten my original point.... well, hope you understand.

y'know, i have to say that of all of the boards i've come across, this has the best 'feel' and the best mix of people. gonna sound a bit suck up here but thanks for a great site guys.

'yee ar kung fu' anyone?

oooh, that's a good point.... mma cross-training i think i would have to say that i 'cross-train' (seeing as i do things not normally associated with wing chun training)

um.... man, i wish ther was another cantonese speaking chinese guy on this forum. might be able to help me explain some things...

well, i think wing chun gets on most people's goat (never understood that saying) is because that it doesn't inherently have any philospohies of peace and spirituality. it was designed to beat old chinese martial arts that had been taught to the ching soldiers. specifically, it was designed to be used in the alleys of the old cities where the old styles had no room to move and where wing chun, with it's straight lines, could dominate. if you look at how it works, you will see that basically, wing chun teaches you how to get to and hit your opponent, usually in the head area. * * * i firmly believe that it does work, especially in it's own environment for which it was designed for. the only problem is that no one holds contests in narrow alleys... as for it's efectiveness outside of it's environment and against anything that isn't traditional chinese, well, i'm sure it can work. you just have to realise that it IS very limited and very narrow sighted. it doesn't help that not many of us train outside of our school. it also isn't good that a lot of places teach that chi sau IS fighting... * * * i've been going to a kick-boxing class for about a year now and as regular readers of my signature will know, i'm getting a sound thrashing BUT i have to say that there are some things from wing chun that the pure kick-boxing guys (most of us there also do another martial art) can't handle. as for muay thai i am thankful i haven't sparred with one yet. i don't think i'm ready.

...yes well, actually in chinese, while we say that he is a feng shui sifu, we still don't call feng shui a kung fu. feng shui is feng shui.

oi, nothing can beat a good nasi goreng... especially when you're not the one making it! and um, guys don't take this too seriously. like i say, just a little thought.... hmmm, how about a little extension to the original thought. how about a tried and tested effective, efficient martial art taught by a bad teacher or a not too great martial art that might work sometimes taught by an excellent teacher

teenage??? dammit, nearly forgot, how's it going? met any nice guys yet? or too busy doing the work you were supposed to be doing last month? might be popping up to your neck of the woods to visit a friend nearer to christmas. honest, visit a friend, i'm not stalking you...

yeah but that video was released by their organisation. it's like asking mercedes-benz what the best car on the market is... or perhaps we're talking about different videos. the only other vid is of the w.cheung vs e.boztepe. they're both wing guys and there's too much controversy around that video.

if you have no idea then why did you make a comment about it?

it always bothers me why so many guys these days wear them damned 'kung fu'/'karate' trainers? and OI!!! nothing wrong with monkeys....

just out of interest, how many wing chun classes have you seen/taken part in before you made these statements? and which particular branch of wing chun are you talking about?

um, feng shui isn't kung fu...

bus driver.... i know an almost funny story about a girl and a bus driver... funny if it wasn't so scary...

shh, don't blow his cover....

just added a couple extra ' marks... hmmm, bowling... another thing where people often confuse brute strength with skill...

...that came to mind. which is better? the 'best' style with the 'worst' teacher or the 'best' teacher with the 'worst' style

he who talks too much knows too little